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What is ATAPI?

 

ATAPI stands for AT Attachment Packet Interface.

ATAPI is a set of extensions to the ATA standards to allow ATA CD/DVD drives and tape drives.

The ATAPI standard was originally defined by the Small Form Factor committee. Maintenance of the ATAPI standard was later transferred to the T13 Technical Committee, the group that defines the ATA standard. The ATAPI standard ceased to exist as a separate document when it became part of the core ATA standard with the publication of ATA-4 in 1998.

ATAPI Drivers

Microsoft Windows and most PC-based Unixes provide a generic driver for all ATAPI based CD-ROM devices.

Because of this, you do not need to download and install an ATAPI driver if you are using one of those operating systems.

Early ATAPI CD-ROM drives required specialized drivers for use under DOS.

If you are running DOS, visit the web page of the company which manufactured your CD-ROM drive to try to find an ATAPI driver.

Booting from an ATAPI Device

Phoenix Technologies and IBM developed the El Torito Bootable CD-ROM Format Specification.

Systems which are El Torito compatible are able to boot from ATAPI CD-ROM drives.



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